Frankfurt am Main,
the dynamic and international financial and trade fair city with the most
imposing skyline in Germany. This is the image that many visitors associate
with the Main metropolis. But the city in the heart of Germany and Europe can
offer many other facets and contrasting variety. Near to the skyscrapers you
can find cosy Ebbelwei pubs and at the heart of the bustling city centre you
can find historical sights again and again. Frankfurt is not just proud of its
most famous son, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The Kaiserdom (Cathedral) and the
Paulskirche, the cradle of German democracy, are also to be found here.
Interesting destinations for excursions in and around Frankfurt, turn your stay
into a great experience and sup a few tasty biers along the way.

Frankfurt’s
restaurants have a lot more to offer than just the Frankfurt ‘national’ meals
of ‘Handkäs’ with music’ and ‘Grüne Soße’. For the restaurant scene is just as
lively and multicultural as the town itself. Visitors can try culinary
specialities from many countries. There is sufficient choice for night owls
too: there are restaurants, bars, clubs and discotheques in all parts of the
city.

For shoppers, Frankfurt is a real ‘el dorado’ with
its many shopping streets and centres. In the heart of Frankfurt’s city centre
lies a shopping street with one of the highest turnovers in Europe. On the
Zeil, the shops offer practically everything you could ever wish for. The
nickname, ‘Fressgass,’ for the pedestrian zone between Opernplatz and
Börsenstraße is justified. Here there is a large selection of restaurants and
various fine food shops.

Those who set out
on a discovery tour of Frankfurt can easily reach many of the sites on foot or
by bus and train. Many attractions are not very far from one another in the
city centre, and with public transport, you can quickly reach further sights
such as the Palm Garden and the Zoo. A city tour with the nostalgic tram, the
‘Ebbelwei Express’ is particularly popular. Also culture lovers will find an
impressive selection of renowned museums on both banks of the Main.

So we have set the scene
now time to go out and find some of the best places to sample beer in the city.
The city has three brewpubs and one large regional brewery Binding/Henninger

Another out
of the Frankfurt place, but actually on the UBahn system, this rustic brewpub
is located in Oberursel old town.In the
main rooms you can see, smell, hear and taste the beer being made in the brew
kettles, which are in operation during opening hours.There is seating for around 190 people, plus
a vaulted beer cellar accommodating a further 110 at long tables and in
intimate niches.Ruther rooms can be
hired for weddings and private functions and in summer the large beer garden is
open.Breakfast, including a large “Bayer-Fruhstuck’
is served every day along with good regional food, including homemade charcuteries.The beer fan can choose from three home
brews: all year round there are pils and vetter 33, the latter supposedly the
world’s strongest beer. The third beer will be one of the 16 different seasonal
specialities.There is also a distillery
and guests can watch the schnapps being made.

Opening hours:Mon-Sat 16:00-24:00,Sunday closed; Transport:The
best way to get there is by public transport on tram 11, getting off at Mainkur
Bahnhof stop. The Bier-Hannes is in front of you on the right hand side

Bier-Hannes
is a nice and traditional brew-pub, on the eastern outskirts of Frankfurt.Truly
German beer stube atmosphere, locals having their afternoon/evening dinner and
beers. Friendly staff (not speaking much of English). The menu is traditional German
home cooking with large portions. There are 4 beers to select from. Small
selection, but really great beers. Worth every penny to pay a visit. The
interior consists of three interconnected rooms, all done out in a traditional
style. It also has a large beer garden where they arrange events like seasonal
beer openings. One of the very few decent beer places in Frankfurt
so for that reason alone worth taking the long tram trip.

Just NW of the centre, near Bockenheimer Warter U-bahn station (U6 or
U7). A wonderful traditional pub in a turreted "Gründerzeit"
building. Lovely rustic and comfortable interior: a single plain bar with
wooden floor and high timber dado; battened ceiling; it was recently renovated
by the new owners in traditional style, but without the chintz – there’s lots
of wood, old photographs and bric-a-brac.Local food plus schnitzel and steaks are on the menu.Beers come from a number of breweries in both
draught and bottled varieties. The
serving counter is in two parts: a main square servery, then a horsehoe-shaped
extension, around which apfelwein-drinking locals sit on stools. Behind the
servery is a congested corrider leading to the toilets and a
hazardously-located dartboard. Highly recommended as a pub.

This is Frankfurt’s
first house brewery.The twelve Apostles
is a pub on three floors, with room for about 180.On the ground floor is a cosy pub with dark
wood panelling and warm colours.The bar
is decorated with beer jugs and Bembels, the typical grey stoneware apple wine
jugs.On the first floor is a rustic
beer cellar, separated into distinct areas by fine stone arches, with a long
bar framed by brick walls.In summer you
can drink your beer on the terrace.The
brewery makes a light and a dark pils, both hoppy and naturally cloudy.The extensive menu features local and
international dishes, mainly from Croatia, with good value lunch-time set meals
during the week.

A former brewpub which was famous for its Kirschbier (cherry beer). GINNHEIMER WIRTSHAUS is the new name for the WÄLDCHES-BRÄU pub; Now a popular restaurant located in northwest Frankfurt, not far from the Niddapark station of the U1 U-bahn line. [Detailed directions: ride the U1 from central Frankfurt to Niddapark. Descend the stairs to the south, the dir. the train was going. At the base, you are on Am Ginnheimer Wäldchen, and above you is Rosa-Luxemburg Str. overpass. You want to turn to the left, east, towards Am Ginnheimer Wäldchen 8, as marked on the street sign. The pub is a 3-5 min. walk along a quiet, wooded street.]

There is no brewing equipment at the pubnow. It does however have two "own-brand" beers brewed under contract: HELLES KELLERBIER (NATURTRÜB) and DUNKLES URBRÄU. The website indicates that they are brewed by a small brewery in Bavaria. Has a large bier garden ideal for passing an hour or two away on a hazy summers day with a stein or two!The food is good, and the food prices were very reasonable (see their web site for a menu). This place is worth the effort to find.

Seems
like you can find Paulaner everywhere in Germany now a days. But, having said that, you can always
count on Paulaner when you´re in a strange german town and in urget need of
Weiss bier and a wurst with mustard.

Their Frankfurt outlet is a spacious, multi-roomed
affair in gleaming pine. As the name suggests, it´s bang opposite the
cathedral. This shouldn´t be too much of a challenge to your navigational skills.
Despite the presence of some shiny copper vessels, this is not a brewpub. They,
like the wooden barrels are for decorative purposes only.

Traditional apfelwein pub in Sachsenhausen. "Don't let the entrance put you off which
resembles a Transport Cafe with glass sliding doors opening into a drinking
corridor furnished with basic plastic tables and chairs. This makes it look
unpromising but offers a refuge for smokers to partake of food and drink.
Continue through to the bar which is smoke free and mural heavy! This feels and
probably is very traditional with heavy wooden tables and the walls are lined
with murals of Frankfurt folk enjoying the local Apfelwein. The Apfelwein was
easy to drink (guess it's not very strong!) and the food both snacks and meals
can only be described as 'hearty'. The staff were friendly and efficient."

Traditional apfelwein pub in Sachsenhausen. It
has long tables and benches, lots of wood and huge murals on the walls.Quite
touristy. Large Bier garden and a winter garden for the colder days. Also good hearty food to eat in or take away with a few bottles of beer. Also a souvenir shop.

Not strictly
Frankfurt, but not that far out and easy to reach on S Bahn. This brewpub and inn, farm and riding stables
all from part of the historic Kronenhof, which originally supplied the nearby
Homburg palace.The pub has room for
about 200, with separate function rooms for 20 to 200, as well as a beer garden
for 300 in summer.Home cooked regional
specialities are served and the beer is brewed using barley grown on the
Kronenhof farm with some success.In
August 2004 Kronenhof beer was the first beer to be awarded the seal of quality
“Geprufte Qualitat – Hessen (Assured quality – Hessen), certifying the entire
production process from the filed to the glass.They even generate their own electricity here from home grown rapeseed
oil.The kronenhof also runs year round
beer seminars.

Fichte Kränzi - Wallstr. 5 (Sachsenhausen)

Fichte Kränzi is a nice gastube (restaurant) in Sachsenhausen, across the river from Frankfurt. It is an easy walk from Römer across the footbridge (at least in nicer weather). The restaurant is in one large, L shaped room with shared, picnic table seating. There is also a small bar with about 4 bar stools. As with most places in Sachsenhausen, they serve traditional Apfelwein ("Apple wine" -- hard cider), and they serve it in the traditional manner from a large ceramic urn which fills blue-and-white ceramic pitchers which in turn fill the glasses. You might want to sample the Apfelwein, but of course we are more interested in the beer. They serve two beers: Karlsberg Ur-Pils, and Konrad Krug Bräu Dunkles Lager Landbier. The Krug-Bräu dunkel lager (from the Bamberg region) was delicious! (always have this beer on-tap?). Worth a visit for this beer alone.Give this place a try if you are in Frankfurt and want to experience Sachsenhausen.

Two-room pub, the
tap for the Binding brewery a few metres up the road, with the historic walls
of the Sachsenhauser Warte, dating from 1767.Sensitively renovated to preserve the original character and incorporate
some of the old stone walls.Apart from
the typical Apfelwein; local and international wines, there are of course
Binding beers, with the Sachsenhauser Warte served unfiltered in a krug.Regional and international food is available
and in summer you can sit in the attractive courtyard (seating for about
250).The beer garden is open with live
music each year.